There are a few things in this announcement that concern/confuse me, but again, nothing new about that either. :-)

-- Posted by stevemills on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 4:03 PM

The old one was fine. Why change something that works.

-- Posted by drifter814 on Thu, Sep 13, 2012, at 5:37 PM

I would agree that it wasn't broke, so.... A while back they changed the word "Help" (self-explanatory) to "Customer Support". Why?

I encourage students to use the A-Z Index for quick answers. If you use the search bar and do not use the correct eBay term, it might take a while to zero in on your issue.

The problem is, eBay moved the A-Z and now I have to teach how to find the A-Z before they can use it.

Now ad to the logo confusion. Not ALL of eBay is changing their logo. Corporate is apparently keeping the original, so you might see both.

Got it? Clear as a bell?

Why? Could it be job preservation? Someone needs to keep changing things or they won't have anything to do? I would hope there is more to it, but sometimes I wonder.

-- Posted by stevemills on Fri, Sep 14, 2012, at 7:42 AM

A revised eBay logo. Brilliant! Just what Captain Donahoe needs to get his beached "Concordia" off the rocks ...

Talk about Nero fiddling while Rome burns ...

Actually, it's the desperate breaths of a clunky operator fast approaching its "use by date". Can't you just picture all those headless turkeys from Bain & Co, in the eBay executive suite, running around in circles, bumping into each other ...

And, "... eBay's Gene Cook, ... said there is a renewed focus on the collectibles business at eBay."

Gee, now where did I get the impression that collectibles and auctions had no future in Donahoe's plans for eBay?

Of course, this "renewed focus" is simply another demonstration of the ever-deeper hole that eBay has been digging itself into under the chief headless turkeyship of John Edward Donahoe.

Collectibles and auctions! What will this gaggle of headless turkeys think of next?

Unfortunately, the water is coming in through all the "flow through theory" holes, that Donahoe has been drilling in the rusting old hulk, faster than the "Boys from Bain" can bail ...

There are points here that I almost agree with, such as the ever changing comments about the collectibles market.

In one part of their announcement they say "Today, most items sold on eBay are new, listed at a fixed "Buy It Now!" price. Our most successful sellers ship most items free......" In my world, that is not accurate, but things are always in the eye of the beholder.

Then they seem to say it is balanced between old and new "On today's eBay, you can buy a rare camera from a collector and a new digital point-and-shoot from a trusted electronics seller; a vintage dress from a fashion boutique owner......" so maybe it is 51% new?

I would have almost been disappointed if you had not gotten the shill bidding in. I know it is one of your favorites.

All I can say is that yes, some probably still goes on, but I believe eBay catches many, so it will be a constant tug of war between those who play by the rules and those who don't.

-- Posted by stevemills on Sun, Sep 16, 2012, at 10:21 AM

Hi Steve,

With every eBay statement, there is always the question, how can you tell when an eBay/PayPal spokesperson is lying? ... And, of course, the simple answer is, their lips are moving ...

I hate to disappoint you but the facts of the eDropOff matter clearly demonstrates that eBay is only nominally interested in doing anything about shill bidding; it's simply not in the interests of their bottom line to be seriously interested; indeed, by ignoring eDropOff's blatant shill bidding, eBay is (now) effectively and actively aiding and abetting this fraudster in her criminal activities ...

"Some still goes on" ... How many examples would you like from the relatively minute number of merchants that I have watched? Steve, shill bidding is rampant, and I'm not talking about someone that has a friend bid on his odd auction, I'm talking about commercial sellers who sell by auction and start those auctions at nominal prices; invariably, they will have a mechanism to obtain the price they want and that will invariably be by shill bidding, those shill bids possibly supplied by a commercial supplier of shill bids as is the case with eDropOff's auctions ...

And, If you want a true indication of the eBay marketplace, in the fifth year of Donahoe's "three year turnaround", take a look at the sell through rates of eBay's favoured merchants "toysrus" and "eforcity", for example--both barely afloat in oceans of unsold "red" ...

Is it any wonder then that the headless turkeys at eBay are desperate and again thinking about collectibles and auctions? ... Too little, too late, I suspect ... the damage has been well and truly done ... the "Concordia" is firmly stuck on the rocks ... it's only a matter of time before the incompetent captain abandons the ship ...

eBay / PayPal / Donahoe: Dead Men Walking

-- Posted by PhilipCohen on Sun, Sep 16, 2012, at 2:26 PM

Too bad the stock market does not agree. From all I have read, eBay is the darling of comeback stocks. As long as that keeps happening, Donahoe will probably remain.

-- Posted by stevemills on Sun, Sep 16, 2012, at 5:12 PM

Yes, I can't explain why the sheep are buying eBay stock. Clearly, they could not be eBay merchants! Still, the fact is the stock prices of eBay and Amazon were both ~$40 five years ago. Surely that is a more accurate measure of what Wall Street thinks today of eBay ...

I think that soon eBay must exhaust the supply of hot air that they have been using to inflate their financials these last two quarters ...

Steve Mills and his wife have one daughter. They previously owned two coffee/ice cream shops, currently operate an internet sales company and teach classes, but his primary job involves the paper industry worldwide. Hobbies and interests lie in gardening, photography, recorded music and of course, their pets.